Recovering from a Fire

The first thing to do after a fire is to protect yourself from additional losses. Under some insurance policies (mostly commercial), there is an obligation by the insured to prevent further damage to the property in whatever way is reasonably possible. For example, by making sure that the fire area is inspected thoroughly to prevent the rekindling of the fire. Before attempting any cleaning or repairs notify your insurance agent for confirmation on how and when to proceed.

The Brandon Fire & Emergency Services will do its utmost to secure your property after a fire. We will remove as much water and debris as possible and protect lightly damaged and undamaged property. We will also use plastic to cover broken windows and ventilation openings in the roof.

If you are forced to stay elsewhere, remove all your valuables. If the Brandon Fire Department is investigating the fire, a police officer, with the permission of the Brandon Fire & Emergency Services investigator, will accompany you through the home/office while you remove your valuables. They will make an inventory of the property taken with you. If you are out of town at the time of the fire, the Fire Department will ensure that your home or office is protected from further damage.

If you rent your property, contact the owner of the building, who should then notify his/her insurance agent. Whether the property is insured or not, you should contact your local municipal Office regarding possible tax reductions.

The simplest way of replacing insurance policies that may be lost in a fire is to contact your insurance agent.

Do not use wet or damaged appliances until they have been properly serviced. If the Fire Department or other agency has turned off the power during the fire, call the Public Utilities Commission or Manitoba Hydro to have these services restored. Do not try to do it yourself.

If your gas supply has been turned off, do not try to restore the service yourself. Call the Centra Gas and have them do it for you. They will test your supply line and also check your appliances when they restore service.

Wash canned goods in detergent and water. Do the same for food in jars. If labels come off, be sure to mark the contents of the can or jar with a grease pencil. Do not use canned goods if the cans have bulges, dents or rust.

1. If your freezer has stopped running, you can still save the frozen food.
   • Keep the freezer closed. Your freezer has enough insulation to keep food frozen for at least one day, perhaps as many as two or three days.
   • Move your food to another freezer. Before transporting it, wrap the frozen food in newspapers and blankets, or use insulated boxes.
2. If your food has thawed, observe the following precautions:
   • Fruit can be refrozen if it still tastes and smells good. Otherwise, it should be eaten at once.
   • Vegetables can be refrozen if they still contain ice crystals.

Do not refreeze vegetables if they have thawed completely. If the vegetables have thawed and cannot be used soon, throw them out. If you have any doubts whatsoever concerning the quality of any food, don't take a chance. Throw it out.

To remove odour from our refrigerator or freezer, wash the inside with a solution of baking soda and water, or use 250 ml (1 cup) of vinegar or household ammonia to 4.5 litres (1 gallon) of water. Some baking soda in an open container, or a piece of charcoal, can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to further absorb any bad odour. If the refrigerator is not running. Leave the door open to air it out completely.

Restaurants and other food establishments must cease all operations after a fire until the premises have been inspected by the Regional Health Unit.

To simplify recordkeeping, use separate credit cards for additional living expenses and for contents purchases.

Here is a checklist of documents which may have to be replaced due to damage or loss during a fire:

• Birth Certificates
• Drivers' Licenses
• Bank Books
• Insurance Policies
• Military Discharge Papers
• Credit Cards
• Title to Deeds
• Manitoba Health Insurance Cards
• Stocks and Bonds
• Social Insurance Cards

Welfare clients should notify their caseworker if any problems arise after a fire.

If your birth, death or marriage records have been destroyed, contact the appropriate Provincial ministry. For replacement of Social Insurance Cards, contact the nearest Canada Employment Centre. Citizenship papers may be replaced by contacting the Federal Government Citizenship Office.

Passports may be replaced by contacting the Passport Office of the Department of External Affairs. For replacement of records of entry to Canada or landed immigrant papers, contact the Canadian Immigration Centre.

For destroyed Drivers' Licenses or Vehicle Registration Papers, contact your local Manitoba License Bureau.

It is strongly recommended to utilize a bank safety deposit box for storage of important and valuable documents.

If you have money that has been only partially burned, you can take the remainder to your local bank manager for possible replacement. If your Canada Savings Bonds have been mutilated or destroyed, contact the manager of the bank or trust company where the bonds were purchased, approximate date or time period when the bonds were purchased, denominations and an approximate number of each.

Flooring and Rugs

If water seeps underneath linoleum, it can cause odours and warp the wood floor. Contact a linoleum dealer to find out what solvent should be used to loosen the linoleum cement without damaging the linoleum. After removing the linoleum, make sure the floor underneath is completely dry before replacing it. 

If water seeps underneath linoleum, it can cause odours and warp the wood floor. Contact a linoleum dealer to find out what solvent should be used to loosen the linoleum cement without damaging the linoleum. After removing the linoleum, make sure the floor underneath is completely dry before replacing it.

Rugs and carpets should also be thoroughly dried. Throw rugs can be cleaned by beating, sweeping or vacuuming, and then shampooing. Rugs should be dried as quickly as possible. Lay them flat, and expose them to a circulation of warm, dry air. A fan turned on the rugs will speed up the process of drying. Make sure the rugs are completely dry. Even though the surface seems to be dry, any moisture remaining at the base of the tufts can quickly rot a rug. For information on cleaning and preserving carpets, contact a carpet dealer.

Clothing

Be selective about the clothes you clean, some may be too old to warrant the extra cleaning expense.

Smoke odour and soot can often be washed from your clothing. The following formula is useful for clothing that can be bleached:

1. 60-75 ml - trisodium phosphate - 6 tbsp
2. 250 ml - Lysol or any household chlorine bleach - 1 cup
3. 4.5 litres water - 1 gallon  
4. To remove mildew, wash the fresh stain with soap and water. then rinse the garment and dry it in the sun. If the stain is still there, use lemon juice and salt; 15 ml (1 tbsp.) perborate bleach to 420 ml (1 pt.) lukewarm water; or a diluted solution of household chlorine bleach. Test coloured garments before using the treatment. Cooking Utensils
5. Before taking wool, silk or rayon garments to the dry cleaners, remove trimming, shoulder pads, etc. If the garment is damp or wet, dry it in a well-ventilated area. Shake the garment out and brush it well. Get it dry cleaned as soon as possible.
6. Mix well, add clothes. Rinse with clear water. Dry well. Substituting 30 ml (2 tbsp.) sodium hypochlorite for the trisodium phosphate is also effective.

Pots, pans, flatware, etc., should be washed with soapy water, rinsed well, and then polished with a finely powdered cleanser. Copper and brass can be cleaned with special polish, salt sprinkled on a piece of lemon or salt sprinkled on a cloth saturated with vinegar.

Leather and Books

Wipe leather goods with a damp cloth, then with a dry cloth. Stuff purses and shoes with newspapers to retain shape. Leave suitcases open. Leather goods should be dried away from direct heat and sun. When leather goods are dry, clean them with saddle soap. Steel wool or a suede brush can be used. Rinse leather or suede jackets in cold water and dry them away from heat and sun.

Books can be dried by placing them on end, with the pages separated. Then they should be piled and pressed to prevent the pages from crinkling. Alternating drying and pressing will help prevent mildew until the books are thoroughly dry. A fan turned on the books will help them dry. For very damp books, sprinkle cornstarch or talc between the pages, leave for several hours, and them brush.

Soot and Smoke Odour

To assist in removing the odour of soot and smoke from walls, furniture and floors, mix one of the following solutions and place containers of it throughout the building as a deodorizer. Do not apply the solution directly to the contents or the building.

Solution A:

1. 60-75 ml - trisodium phosphate 4-6 tbsp.
2. 250 ml - Lysol or any chlorine bleach - 1 cup
3. 4.5 litres water - 1 gallon

Solution B:

1. 30 ml - sodium hypochlorite - 2 tbsp.
2. 4.5 litres water - 1 gallon
3. Use with Lysol or any chlorine bleach

Walls and Ceilings

Trisodium phosphate and sodium hypochlorite can be obtained at a local hardware store. Protect your hands by wearing rubber gloves when mixing or using these types of solutions.

Problems could be experienced when cleaning walls, especially glazed walls and high walls. Walls may be washed down while wet. Use a mild soap or detergent. Wash a small area at a time working from the floor up except for high walls which should be washed from the top down. Then immediately rinse the wall with clear water.

Ceilings should be washed last. Before paintings severely smoke-stained ceilings and walls, a special sealer (S.P.S) should be used to eliminate the dark colour bleeding through the finished painted surface after completion. Do not repaint any walls or ceilings until they are completely dry.

Wood Furniture

It is strongly recommended that soot and smoke be cleaned from the top of flat surfaces of fine wood furniture as soon as possible after a fire because different types of smoke (from plastics, rubber, electrical wiring, etc.) affect the various surface finishes in different ways. Speedy cleaning may eliminate expensive refinishing costs and in some instances severe surface damage. Furniture may be treated in the following manner:

1. Clear off mud and dirt.
2. Remove drawers. Let them dry thoroughly so there will be no sticking when they are replaced.
3. Scrub with stiff brush and cleaning solution.
4. Wet wood can decay and mold, so dry it thoroughly. Open doors and windows for good ventilation. Turn on your furnace or air conditioner, if necessary.
5. If mold forms, wipe the wood with a cloth soaked in a mixture of water and kerosene, or borax dissolved in hot water.
6. Do not dry furniture in the sun. The wood will warp and twist out of shape.
7. To remove white spots or film, rub the wood surface with a cloth soaked in a solution of 125 ml (1/2 cup) each of household ammonia and water, always rubbing the grain. Then wipe dry and polish with wax, or rub surface with the grain using a cloth soaked in a solution of 125 ml (1/2 cup) each of turpentine and linseed oil. Be careful. These materials are flammable. You can also rub the wood surface with the grain using a 4/0 steel wool pad dipped in liquid polishing wax. Wipe the surface with a soft cloth and then buff.

Fixtures and Countertops

Bathroom and kitchen fixtures, glazed wall tiles and arborite countertops should also be cleaned as quickly as possible in much the same manner as wood.

Smoke Odour Counteracting Services

Refer to the yellow pages of your telephone directory for a reputable firm to perform these services.

Locks and Hinges

Locks, especially iron locks, should be taken apart, wiped with kerosene and oiled. If locks cannot be removed, squirt machine oil through a bolt opening or keyhole, and work the knob to distribute the oil. Hinges should also be thoroughly cleaned and oiled.

Water and fire-damaged records can often be saved by prompt action. Without proper emergency treatment, however, records may become damaged beyond repair.

Damp or soggy paper records deteriorate rapidly because of materials used in the fabrication of the paper itself. Within 24 hours, pages may begin to adhere to each other, but can still be separated without further damage. Legibility at this point depends upon the type of paper and kind of ink or writing materials used.

Within 48 hours, as the individual records in file folders stored inside filing cabinets begin to dry, the individual sheets of paper wrinkle and adhere to each other. The longer the records remain in the folders and cabinets, the more difficult the restoration process becomes. The task of separating individual documents is almost impossible and legibility is progressively impaired.

If water-soaked records, housed in folders and filing cabinets, are allowed to dry intact for about 5 days, mold from bacteria action will begin to form. If the documents remain in that state for a longer period of time, they will form a hard mass. Restoration at this point is very difficult, if not impossible.

Generally, records stored in the lower drawers of a filing cabinet receive the most water during the firefighting process. Dampness from lower drawers will often spread to records in the upper drawers, particularly if the filing cabinets are made of wood. Therefore, top drawers should be opened slightly to facilitate the movement of air. Damp records in the lower drawers should be removed as soon as possible. Storage of valuable records in lower drawers, where they are most susceptible to damage should be avoided.

A potential fire hazard from delayed ignition is often present when opening filing cabinet drawers that have been subjected to intense heat. Such ignition has occurred as long as three days after a cabinet has been removed from the scene of a fire. Drawers should be opened cautiously after the container has cooled below the sizzling point. Suitable hand fire extinguishers, or some means of producing a fine water spray, should be available when the drawers are opened in case flash ignition occurs.

When there is large scale fire and water damage to valuable records, remove the filing equipment containing these records from the scene of the fire as soon as possible. If practical, remove such equipment first, before removing any other office equipment. The other office equipment and machines are replaceable or repairable. In many cases, records cannot be replaced. The element of time is primary in restoring records.

Arrangements should be made as soon as possible for well-protected vacant ground floor space, preferably store-type rather than a warehouse, for temporary storage of records to be salvaged. Warehouse space is more likely to be unheated and poorly lighted. The area should be large enough to provide working space for salvage operations with sufficient light to identify the records. Such space should be well heated with good circulation of air to combat mold formation. The ideal condition is a temperature of 25-30 degrees Celsius (80-90) degrees Fahrenheit) with humidity below 60 percent.

Filing cabinets should be arranged in the temporary space so that all file drawers can be readily opened. This can best be done by lining the cabinets along the outside walls with the drawers facing the middle of the room. The method to use depends upon the number of cabinets involved and the amount of floor space available.

Extreme care should be used in handling cabinets witch may be hot, splintered, or unusually heavy due to water-soaked records. Improper lifting and moving of filing cabinets may cause serious strains, back injury and/or hernias. Protective gloves should be worn to avoid injuries.

As soon as the damaged records are moved into temporary storage, partially open each file drawer. Care should be taken not to topple cabinets through overbalance from opening top drawers too far. Again, during this process, a hand fire extinguisher should be available in case of spontaneous combustion.

Carefully examine the contents of each drawer to determine the type and extent of the damage. As the files are examined, note on the front of each drawer by use of coloured chalk or paper tags the type of damage; for example W- waterlogged, D- damp, F - fire, singed or scorched, and X - destroyed.

Consult with the individuals who are responsible for maintaining the company's files to determine and locate various categories and series of records that have been identified, determine whether or not the damaged records are duplicated elsewhere. For example, at headquarters or at a subordinate office, or in an alternate file within the filing system.

Then determine if any of the damaged records are of such temporary value that their reclamation is unnecessary or uneconomical. Start reclamation of records that should be saved in the following order: vital records, program records, housekeeping records and non-documentary material. Wet or damp records should not be dried by sunlight or direct application of heat, such as laying the papers on top of radiators or furnace registers. Several recommended methods of drying records follow:

• Fast Drying
  Use a large blueprint or photographic dryer, with a metal cylinder about 126 cm long and 3 cm in diameter (42 x 10 inches), electrically heated with a thermostat control. Five legal-size or letter-size papers can be dried simultaneously on a dryer of this size. Care should be taken not to allow the cylinder to become too hot. Excessive heat will scorch the paper. It is better to re-run documents through the dryer several times until they are completely dry. Most commercial firms that do blueprinting or photography have such dryers.
• Slow Drying
  Use a photocopy dryer with a metal cylinder about 81 cm long and 84 cm in diameter (27 x 28 inches), electrically heated and with thermostat control. This is similar to the blueprint dryer except that it dries paper much less rapidly. However, it is more suitable for large documents. Such a dryer is also available at most blueprinting or photographic reproduction firms.
• Room or Space Drying
  Spread records on the floor or on tables in a warm or hot room with an air-circulating fan running at low speed. It will be necessary to turn the documents periodically. The drying process can be greatly accelerated and large quantities of wet records quickly and effectively handled by ironing with mangles.
• Clothesline Drying
  Hang documents on a clothesline strung in a warm or hot room - a boiler room is ideal. Periodically, about every 2 hours, reverse the documents on the clothesline. Wet documents can be dried by this process in approximately 30 to 48 hours. This method is very good for drying large individual documents such as blueprints, land plots or sectional maps.
• Bound Volumes
  Stand bound volumes on end with their covers spread. Interleave pages with blotting paper, absorbent paper towelling or tissue, periodically changing it as it becomes damp. After the bindings of the volume have become moderately dry by exposure to the air, simple jackets of heavy waxed paper should be made for them so that the books may be laid flat with the covers closed without risk of the binding cloth sticking or staining.
  
  Pages should then be examined, separating them from each other if necessary by inserting a thin spatula and again interleaving the sheets with thin blotters between them. Place the books under light pressure using common building bricks, if necessary, to flatten the sheets and eliminate warping of the covers. Blotters should be changed as necessary.
• Maps
  Place fairly well-dried maps and other oversize documents between waxed paper and then in turn between white blotters and pieces of corrugated paper. This arrangement may be built up to include a number of maps and then weighted until drying is complete. A large piece of wallboard, weighted by bricks, will provide even pressure. The maps should remain under pressure for several days to prevent curling or buckling.
• Film
  Place water-soaked film in a large tank (suck as a plastic swimming pool) containing cool, clear water. This will keep the film wet and prevent it from sticking together. Mud and other debris need to be removed but should be washed off carefully to avoid scratching the film. The film should then be bathed in a photographic hardening solution to protect the emulsion, spray-washed, and dried. This first-aid treatment is effective if salvage operations are concluded quickly. Film is subject to damage from prolonged exposure to water through action of fungi, mold and mildew. Dry film that has been contaminated by soot, oil or dirt should be cleaned with a dry cleaning agent.
• Microfilm
  Waterlogged microfilm can be revived if it receives first aid. The 16 mm Microfilm Records of the Pennsylvania Electric Company in Johnstown spent 8 days submerged in floodwater after a disaster. Today that film is back in service, thanks to the no-charge reclamation services that Eastman Kodak Co. (Rochester, N.Y.) provided its customer.

  "Being immersed in water often does little or no damage to microfilms, if they're kept wet with fresh water", reports Gill Miller, Manager of Kodak's Microfilm Processing Laboratory in Pittsburgh. "Acids, chemicals, or silt in the flood-water that might scratch the film are the main dangers." He suggests the following to prevent permanent water damage:

  1. Fill any large, clean container (such as a garbage or milk can) with fresh water.
  2. Place the film (in their cartons) completely underwater.
  3. Cover the container and send it to the nearest commercial processing centre

• Magnetic Tape, Memory Cores and Related Devices
  Protect magnetic tape and related material from heat and moisture. Images that comprise the documentation are distorted or obliterated by exposure to a degree of heat and moisture that would not damage paper records. Once distorted or obliterated, these images cannot be restored. Thus, recovery measures will achieve little success.

  Here, the only sure protection is storing duplicate records in a separate area not subject to the same fire. In some operations, duplications on the same or different media is a common practice.

  The increasing use of electronic equipment to handle large or complex quantities of work results in the concentration in a single location of recorded data that is of the utmost importance. The data, as well as the equipment, deserves proper protection. Methods to achieve maximum protection are available from the equipment manufacturer.

• Singed or Scorched Records
  Carefully handle singed, scorched or charred records; dry them slowly and duplicate those that are seriously damaged. Charred records should be handled as little as possible to avoid crumbling. Even though they appear completely ruined, illegible charred documents can often be read by exposure to invisible ultraviolet light in total darkness
• Intrinsically Valuable Records
  Seek professional advice if the damaged records are unique and merit preservation in their original form. Drying alone is not sufficient to preserve fine books, unique maps and other irreplaceable documents. Lamination and other treatments are often necessary to prevent damage; however, professional advice should be sought for these measures.
• Freeze Drying Process
  Valuable papers, unique copies of works, treasured keepsakes and art objects can often be restored by freeze-drying. The important thing is to get the damaged object you want to save into a freezer immediately. You will then have time to inquire about services to carry out the restoration. The conservator at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Room is one source of advice (416) 978-7265.

  Another source of information regarding freeze-drying is The Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa, which has a 24-hour answering service.